US says cyber attacks are an 'act of war'

'Hack our networks and we'll flatten your country'

Serious cyber-attacks could now result in a missile being dropped on your face

Foreign hackers beware! The United States is now counting a cyber-attack as an act of war, which means they can set about bombing that country back to the stone age.

The Pentagon has completed its first ever cyber-security strategy report, which aims to tackle the burgeoning threat from hackers around the world.

The 30-page report, which is set to be revealed - in-part - next week, will outline America's intention to respond to malicious hacks using its considerable military might.

Hand grenades for hacks

One typically gung-ho military official told the Wall Street Journal that "If you shut down our power grid, maybe we will put a missile down one of your smokestacks."

The news comes as the US continues to absorb this weekend's hack of the major defense contractor and weapons provider Lockheed Martin.

The WSJ article says that the report will argue that: "Laws of Armed Conflict - derived from various treaties and customs that, over the years, have come to guide the conduct of war and proportionality of response - apply in cyberspace as in traditional warfare.

"The document goes on to describe the Defense Department's dependence on information technology and why it must forge partnerships with other nations and private industry to protect infrastructure."

Earlier today we reported that the UK is working on creating a 'tool box of cyber weapons as well as developing its own online defenses.